Even when she is styled as a woman from the 1950s,
she holds my gaze and that connection is part of her USP...
VICTORIA is one of the next four undergoing the LMBTO Review!
And so we move along the chronological trail of 2021 to reveals 29, 30, 31 and 32 - three slow tracks and a mid tempo pop song, all should have sung in 2020, all reselected and their songs chosen internally (yes, even yours VICTORIA!). We even had the second incidence of a one word song title with this selection and for a change it wasn't "Shine"...
AUSTRIA : Vincent Bueno - "Amen"
There is one advantage of having a Contest cancelled after all the 2020 songs were submitted to the Heads Of Delegation Meeting in March last year - we are sometimes treated to a study of how versatile an artist can be with different styles of music and tempo. Look at Vincent Bueno - a pop/funk jaunt with "Alive" last year, a very reflective and emotional ballad with "Amen" this. No dancing and warehouses this year in the Official Video - all walls and birds:
The past twelve months have been a very emotional time for a lot of us and none more so that Vincent - there have been major health issues with members of his close family and it is therefore understandable that when a song like this was on the table, he would grasp it with both hands and put all of his feelings and passion into it. Just reading the lyrics gave me pause for quiet contemplation:
I guess
Yeah you said that it's time for us to put
Our love
To rest
Dressed in black you left my neighbourhood
And I never thought you'd bury me & you
No I never thought we'd die
But amen
Amen
Tell me is this what you wanted?
Is this what you wanted?
Amen
Amen
Tell me is this what you wanted?
Tell me is this what you wanted?
Amen
I bet
It's just another funeral to you
But for me
It's the end
The marching band are playing 'gone too soon'
And I never thought you'd bury me & you
No I never thought we'd die
But amen
Amen
Tell me is this what you wanted?
Is this what you wanted?
Amen
Amen
Tell me is this what you wanted?
Tell me is this what you wanted?
It all feels like
Ya didn't even try oh try
Try to save us
All this time
Wasted on a lie
Amen
Amen
Are you getting what you wanted?
Hey are you getting what you wanted?
Amen
Amen
Are you getting what you wanted?
Hey are you getting what you wanted?
Whether you read it as the end of a relationship or a literal passing of a loved one, this is likely to be one of the moments in Rotterdam where commentators take a step back from being light hearted and comical, allowing this entry to happen and then say something poignant and solemn. That is what this song needs and I suspect that we might even see Vincent play a piano and sing this with minimal movement - a stark pause in what will be brightness and fun elsewhere but a necessary one. It would not surprise me that fans and even he might get very emotional - whether we see this more than just in SF2, I am not sure - we have seen a short glimpse of him singing this live in the studio at Concert In The Dark and PrePartyES21 and it sounds amazing. We have had no hints of the staging and it is between the two pop tracks of Greece and Poland - if this does connect with viewers, it might stand out as a moving and yet uplifting beacon, otherwise we will probably see a singer who had a personal emotional journey at Eurovision but who doesn't get any further than Thursday night. I am delighted that he has had the opportunity to be at Eurovision whatever happens, and I suspect he will feel that he got to sing the 'right' song...
The next artist in this batch of four to return after 2020 is The Netherlands/Greece's own Stefania - the only other artist apart from Jeangu Macrooy that was more or less guaranteed being at the Rotterdam Ahoy this year, due to her being Dutch and even having been part of Kisses at JESC 2016. We should have had "SUPERG!RL" in 2020, with her superpowers helping students not slip on banana skins and getting cats out of trees - this time we have "Last Dance" and imagery relating to Greek mythology:
Apparently there will be no representation of Pegasus at the Ahoy although someone playing Atlas hasn't been ruled out! This entry has a huge following across the Eurovision fandom due to its fresh faced singer and the song that is admittedly very chart and radio/stream friendly - unfortunately it has not really connected with me. The lyrics are really a means to an end but aren't there to make you remember and sing them - I don't remember anything other than the song title:
My heart was born a radical
electric and dynamical
I've never listened to the remedies
but no forever no eternities
Holding on beyond the night
for a shadow that feels right
holding on beyond the night
to you
If the dreams we made are made of fire
I would give a life just to live the dream again
if our hearts are hanging on a wire
let’s forget the world below and dance
Until the end
Let’s Dance
Our last dance
Rocking romance
This isn’t (ain’t) our last last dance
(or this ain’t our last dance.)
My heart was born in neon lights
floating in space like satellites
looking for signs of life tonight
as we collide in black and white
Holding on beyond the night
for a shadow that feels right
holding on beyond the night
to you
If the dreams we made are made of fire
I would give a life just to live the dream again
Take a deeper breath before we touch
running out of time let’s use it up
hold me before the morning comes
Linked with the music and Stefania's voice, for me it is all just 'okay' - it doesn't stand out at all from the pack, there is no wow moment and I think that her age and experience doesn't help drive this song in a way that other artists might have been able to do. I preferred 2020's "SUPERG!RL" - that matched her age and I think it still does, Stefania being the youngest artist at the 2021 Contest. All of the PR photos APART from the one above have tried to make her appear older, more chic and serious - let an 18 year old look and feel like an 18 year old! "Last Dance" does come across as a song for an older artist, something that needs the power and chutzpah that somebody like Natalie Horler or Helena Paparizou could give this vocally. To be fair to Stefania, we haven't seen or heard any live performances from her at all - Greek websites have hinted that this might happen in the week before the Rotterdam rehearsals and Dutch media have hinted that "Last Dance" could have staging and choreography never seen before on a Eurovision stage (not AR as that has been ruled out for Eurovision artists by the Ahoy production team). Perhaps I am judging this too harshly and this will transform into an amazing experience in May - at the moment, I feel that this song is Stefania's 'kryptonite' and that we might end up with this being the shock Final non-qualifier of 2021. At least there is a commemorative souvenir banknote for her to remember this all by, whatever happens...
SWITZERLAND : Gjon's Tears - "Tout L'Univers"
Some artists have struggled to even match their 2020 entries in 2021 - some have at least come somewhere near their creative level so they can expect a similar result and experience. There are a couple who have surpassed themselves and for this guy, that is an unbelievable state of affairs when his previous submission was incredible - Gjon's Tears has come back with something that is out of this world...
"Répondez-moi" was a vocal masterpiece in 2020 and although it was down as my #11, I could see it being a contender for the Eurovision crown even then. "Tout l'Univers" is on another level, a triumph in every way - it is as if last year's song was the trial run and 2021 is the pinnacle, the absolute best that Gjon could make it - let's start with the lyrics:
Laisser le vent qui frôle
Sa main sur mon épaule
Le vide dans ma tête
Pas la moindre cachette
C’est l’aube qui décline
Derrière un champ de ruine
Le moment de grandir
Ne pas te retenir
Je vois derrière nous des morceaux de toi
Et ce que la douleur a fait de moi
Tout l'univers
Nos deux coeurs sous la terre
Au milieu des failles où tout éclate
Se trouver au point d’impact
Sans toi
Que deviendront nos souffles
S’ils restent sur le bord ?
Cet amour qui nous tord
Je vois derrière nous des morceaux de toi
Et ce que la douleur a fait de moi
Tout l'univers
Nos deux coeurs sous la terre
Au milieu des failles où tout éclate
Se trouver au point d’impact
Sans toi
Derrière mes paupières
Trouver de l’air
Ah
(Tout l’univers)
(Nos deux coeurs sous la terre)
Au milieu des failles et des ressacs
Nous nous retrouverons au point d’impact
Comment soigner nos coeurs qui éclatent
Tout l’univers
Let the wind brush
His/her hand over my shoulder
The void in my head
Not a single place to hide
The dawn is fading
Behind a field of ruins
It’s time to grow up
Don’t hold yourself back
I see pieces of you behind us
And I see what pain has made of me
The whole universe
Our two hearts under the ground
At the centre of the rifts where everything explodes
Being at the point of impact
Without you
What will happen to our breaths
If they stay on the shore?
This love that wrings us out
I see pieces of you behind us
And I see what pain has made of me
The whole universe
Our two hearts under the ground
At the centre of the rifts where everything explodes
Being at the point of impact
Without you
Behind my eyelids
Get some air
Ah
(The whole universe)
(Our two hearts under the ground)
At the centre of the rifts and the aftershocks
We will meet at the point of impact
How can we heal our exploding hearts
The whole universe
Even in translation, those are some of the most amazing words put into music - emotions, mythology, science and the cosmos all coming together in one song. When you understand what is being sung, that video makes so much more sense - the travelling through time and across countryside, together with the super-imposed star constellations, just fit perfectly with the song. The star of the show is of Gjon himself - I knew that his live vocals are exquisite and he proved it yet again during a live performance on Spanish tv:
This struck a chord with the production team of "Rocío Carrasco, Contar la verdad para seguir viva" so much that it became the theme tune and due to the content of the documentary, his demeanour and stylish clothing were totally suitable. His vocals are absolutely sublime and he arguably has the purest voice I have ever heard at Eurovision. The song gives a message of hope and positivity to all and I think we will have a very special moment in May. My SECHUK rankings after that tv studio performance?
Vocal Capability 5.0/5
Stage Performance 4.5/5
Composition/Originality 4.5/5
Overall Impression 5.0/5
Score 19.0/20 (9.5)
Two entries this year have my highest score of 9.5 - this one from Switzerland and Barbara Pravi's "Voilà" for France. I cannot remember the last time that two French language songs were at the top of my preferences at a Contest - Barbara currently gets the nod for #1 as hers is based on a National Final show, in the heat of battle so to speak. For a change, I can see why an entry like this can engage so many across the fandom and why this is one of the favourites to win in Rotterdam. The staging might be the variable that will determine whether we end up in Switzerland in 2022 - Tuesday 11th May at 3pm CET is when we might get an answer to that one. Whatever happens, this will be an entry that sticks in my mind for a very long time and I wish I could be in the Ahoy arena to experience THAT voice filling the venue...
"growing up is getting old" was the chosen song out of the six on offer by Bulgaria, made up of "UGLY CRY" and those on her debut EP, "a little dramatic". Anyone who wanted to comment could say whether or not they could see each track being a success at Eurovision and supposedly those words were taken into account before the selection of track for VICTORIA was made. How true that is, we will probably never know - it is unlikely that we have seen something on the scale of Waylon playing with the Dutch tv audience in 2018, playing the contents of his new album and then stating that "Outlaw In 'Em" was going to be his Eurovision song anyway, but it does seem that the song selected was the one that VICTORIA wanted to sing all along, which is fair enough. Lyrically, it is beautiful and it has a lovely story behind it:
Playing tetris with my feelings
Trynna keep them all inside
Hollow shadows and my soul is spilling over, I'm out of time
Closing every door
Wanna be alone
Lonely is a way that I survive
Sick of wanting more
Sitting on the floor
Wondering where all my feelings go
Nervous system's aching
Growing up is getting old
Don't get it, there's an ocean of emotion that I'm carrying inside
I am cautious,
Cause I've never understood how so much can fit in little me
Star crossed soul
And I'm used to letting go
Sink deeper in the flow of it
My demons know exactly where my fears
Are hiding all my tears
I'm torn by nervous system's aching
Growing up is getting old
Anxiety is draining
Getting up is growing old
And if I ever take that second to leave my worries behind
Maybe I could tread the waters of time,
Get out of my mind
Growing up is getting old
Getting up is growing old
If your world is breaking
And growing up is getting old
Know that you're worth saving
And getting up is all you've got
"a little dramatic" is a superb EP and it is the best sort, where all songs link together and there is an overall story arc. What makes the individual tracks brilliant on their own is that they all were a chapter in that tale, including "growing up is getting old". If you haven't already done so, listen to the whole EP - as far as Eurovision is concerned though, we have this song and it was clear that the Bulgarian Jury had chosen well for VICTORIA, as this was her favourite of all six. The style of the Official Video being very 1950s based and the story of her coming face to face with her younger self is immaterial - what is important is how VICTORIA sings the entry live and emotes it, which is where the Reveal Concert comes in...
VICTORIA is as ever a superb live singer - she has a perfect voice for this style and her emotional delivery is one of the best of the 39 artists in Rotterdam. As you can see, I score it highly using all the Jury categories:
Vocal Capability 5.0/5
Stage Performance 4.0/5
Composition / Originality 4.0/5
Overall Impression 4.0/5
Score 17.0/20 (8.5)
I prefer this to last year's "Tears Getting Sober" but I do feel that track had a far better chance of winning Eurovision than "growing up is getting old". Why do I say that? 2020's Bulgarian entry had more of an impact than the 2021 song - a bit Disney admittedly but you could imagine that being a Eurovision winner. "growing up is getting old" - it is SO gentle and refined that I can see it falling off everyone's radar and potentially not even troubling the top ten in the Final. I might be proved wrong but I think that VICTORIA is another artist that really needed to have sung last year, although I think that the quality of the song she has this year is better. That is testament to her song writing teams and her undeniable talent - she will be a big star for years to come and Eurovision will prove to be a big boost in her musical career.
My personal positions for these four?
AUSTRIA 31st
GREECE 36th
SWITZERLAND 2nd
BULGARIA 14th
In my opinion, Gjon's Tears and VICTORIA are dead certs for the Eurovision Final. I think that despite his passion and commitment to his entry, Vincent Bueno will be staying in SF2 - as for Stefania, I wouldn't put money on her making Saturday UNLESS the rumours about having an incredible and unique staging are true, in which case Greece will get there. So that was entries 29-32, seven to go, the next four sees a real mix of artists whose entries could go either way! Join me for entries 33-36 in the next review article!